"The Christmas Gift of Aloha," the holiday favorite written by the late playwright Lisa Matsumoto, will be revived for the last time this year  fulfilling a five-year contract as Ala Moana Center's signature Christmas spectacle. It will run Nov. 28 through Dec. 23, with 6 p.m. nightly performances except on Mondays.

"Aloha" features music by Roslyn Catracchia, Matsumoto's longtime ally in mounting local musicals and comedies with a pidgin-English twist, and Roslyn will direct for the first time. Matsumoto died in a traffic accident last Dec. 14  so the revival and finale, by her devoted 'ohana, should have emotional undertones and help bring closure.

"We're hoping that this will be a season of healing for the cast," said Roslyn. "We invited people who've done it before." So 'Ohi'a Productions regulars such as Bryan Yamasaki, Devon Nekoba, U'ilani Kapuaakuni, Clint Sekioka and Kyle Malis comprise the company. Kala'i Stern is musical director.

"This is my first time alone (without Matsumoto) but happily, Michael Furuya, Lisa's cousin who co-founded her 'Ohi'a Productions, is part of it, helping alongside. So I don't feel so alone," she said. He's the art-driven partner who provided images for Matsumoto's books.

Matsumoto's plays will sprout shortly, with rights awarded to Palace Theatre in Hilo for "Once Upon One Noddah Time" in October. And "On Dragonfly Wings," the musical fantasy inspired by the brief life of Alana Dung, is taking flight twice: Hawai'i School for Girls at La Pietra will produce a spring production, and The Lyric on La Brea in Los Angeles has a May launch. ...

TRADE WINDS: Taimane Gardner, the 'ukulele wizard who used to perform with the Don Ho show at the Ohana Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel, has released a CD, "Life  The Art & Beauty of Being Human," available in Japan and via online. Gardner tilts her artistry a skosh here, singing some originals and strumming in a softer, lighter style; the Nippon folks love the music. ...

Gardner toured Japan this summer and connected with sumotori Konishiki, who also is a recording star. Some writers there dubbed them "Beauty and the Beast." She has had nice exposure in Japan; while performing at the Hilton Hawaiian Village's "Waikiki Lu'au on the Lagoon," a crew from Fuji TV taped the Tihati-produced show on which she guest-performs, and earlier, a performance with Japan's Tube also raised her visibility and popularity. ...

HAWAIIAN STYLE: Eddie Kamae and The Sons of Hawai'i  Mike Kaawa, Ocean Kaowili, Paul Kim and Analu Aina  were at Shannon Center in Whittier, Calif. recently  and it's been a longtime a mecca for Islanders, thanks to David Palmer, center director, who has a lot of aloha for locals. Folks like The Brothers Cazimero have been regulars at Shannon for more than15 years. ...

Kamae, an Island music treasure, regularly joins Kaawa and Aina in a Tuesday gig, from 5 to 7 p.m., at the Elks Club. He does a few tunes  after the regulars perform. It's one the "secret" jewels of Waikiki. ...

Of course, Kamae and wife Myrna are filmmakers, too, and their most recent documentary, "Lahaina: Waves of Change," will be screened Oct. 20 at the 20th Pacific Rim Film Festival. It's the 10th airing of the film and the festival is free ...

AND ON A MUSICAL NOTE: Kamae plans to have a second volume of his "Yesterday & Today" CD series. ...

AROUND TOWN: Daniel Ho, Grammy-winning Island musician who is a member of Saint Louis School's Class of 1986, will be honored  along with Stanley Hong, '54; Raymond N. Bickson, '73; and Blenn A. Fujimoto, '76  as "Saint Louis Gentlemen," in a gala Oct. 9 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village's Coral Ballroom. Ho and singer Tia Carrere, who coincidentally have a new CD out, "'Ikena," will entertain. ...

Chris Salvador, 16, of 'Aiea, was the winner of Aloha Tower Marketplace's annual 'Ukulele Concert, beating 21 other challengers, and collecting a Kamaka uke in the process. Kirk Shimabukuro of Hilo placed second and won a KoAloha instrument, with David Ardo of Manoa copping third, and a Leolani Mahagony concert uke. ...

ON BROADWAY: Gerard Alessandrini, creator-writer of the long-running "Forbidden Broadway" in New York, will finally close next Jan. 15 as it marks its 27th anniversary. Alessandrini, who came to Hawai'i in 1997 to oversee Manoa Valley Theatre's production of his off-Broadway institution that parodies legendary stars and scenes from the Great White Way, says it's time to pack up, since Broadway is not fueling skewering material as it did in the past. The latest edition, "Forbidden Broadway Goes to Rehab," has just opened, taking shots at "South Pacific," "Equus," "In the Nights," "August: Osage Country" and "Gypsy." Sorry to hear it is pulling up stakes. ...